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About The Author

Ralph Maughan

Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is President of the Western Watersheds Project.

18 Responses to Kayaker fights off hungry wolf on B.C. coast

thanks for putting this story in . . interesting. As I teach in my classes though, you can be attacked by any animal and with more people in the outdoors there is more chance for this to happen. The most vicious attack I have ever gotten was from a winter wren which are about the size of a golf ball. She was in such a rage that I sat by her nest she pecked me all over till I moved. Since then I try and be a little more aware of where I walk and sit cause next time it could be a skunk, or a bigger animal that I am unintentionally rude to. Any animal, including a human, who is starving will change characters as well. Desperation causes deperate acts.

Bit of a presumption Phillip…the fact that he put the wolf in a headlock, drug it down to his kayak, extracted a knife, and stabbed it repeatedly, all the time holding on to a struggling animal, tells me he did a fairly good job of fending it off.

Wolves are predators. They will occasionally try to kill and eat people. So will black and grizzly bears. That’s life in the real world. Wolves are fascinating animals, but they are also dangerous. Why is it that every time a wolf injures or kills someone the anti-wolf people immediately point to it as if they are after all of us, and the pro-wolfers try to justify the attack somehow and explain how there must be unique circumstances? Just accept reality. Your life will be much more peaceful.

Anti-wolf people make a big deal out of it for the same reason George Bush is always raising the specter of Al Quaida — they think it will benefit their political objectives by raising fear — it’s one of the most basic political ploys.

There have been several reports of wolves being either a nuisance or threatening – though not to this degree. All (that I am aware of) have been wolves that have been to some degree or other, habituated to human food. I have no idea if this is the case here. Obviously the old wolf was hungry though.

Reports like this usually convey more usefully about the human side of what occurred than the wolf side, despite the fact that it was close and persistent enough on the animal’s part to elicit a rapid and considerable response by the reporter, for whatever combination of reasons (or mis-reasons) on both sides.

Its hazardous to speculate on this story too much. The “facts” coming out of the mainstream media are often not what they seem. Besides, all the speculative talk gives folks like Elkherder more ammo to comment that wolf supporters only try to cover up the real story with numbers, science, and such.

Its amazing how much fuel this incident will put on the anti-wolf fires. One wolf, healthy or not, attacks a human and does superficial damage to some kayaker up in Canada somewhere, and dies for its poor taste in dinner choices. The anti-wolf circles start to buzz with statements like: “We told you so” and “Its only a matter of time until one kills a child”.

Yet, are they really concerned about the welfare of the kayaker, or are they just fear mongering? Has anyone in the anti-wolf community visited this kayaker in the hospital or contributed to his medical bills? I doubt not. No, they will use this kayaker’s incident as the poster child for all that is wrong with wolves. Just like the fellow that was killed, allegedly, by wolves in Upper Canada. Were the anti-wolfers concerned enough about that fellow to send money to his family, make sure his kids went to school, help pay for his funeral? Again, I doubt it.

Are the wolf haters really just using the wolf issue as a straw dog? Or are they just hateful and spiteful people in everyday life? I wonder if they are really concerned about game herds, children in the woods, or their pets. Or is it just a feeble attempt at forwarding their own agenda or a grasp at power? Fear means control; just ask Bush.

If they were really concerned about the threats to their fellow man, they would be worried about these scary statistics:

“There is a dog bite epidemic in the United States. There are almost 5 million victims annually — about 2% of the entire population. 800,000 need medical attention. 1,000 per day need treatment in hospital emergency rooms. Approximately 26 die per year. Most of the victims who receive medical attention are children, half of whom are bitten in the face. Dog bite losses exceed $1 billion per year, with over $300 million paid by insurance.” From http://www.dogbitelaw.com

What about all the children addicted to crack or meth? How about the 20,000 or so teenagers who die in auto crashes every year? More people die from hitting the anti’s sacred deer, moose and elk on the roads every year than have ever been bitten by wolves in recorded history. Elkherder and his kind would like to blunt and disavow the facts, but the truth is cows, dogs, bees, and people kill people ever year. Wolves do not.

i found this site by accident and i’m a computer illiterate. i hunt and peck while typing. i’d like to say more but it takes soooo long. you all sound to have the same concerns as i do. anyway, there is some good news on the wolffront. my sister and her family recently moved to the adirondacks of ny and she reports of wolf repopulation in the area from quebec. genetic testing of slain animals(previously thought to be large coyotes) suggest that the st. lawrence river/seaway may not be as impenetrable as once thought. as a virginia outdoorsman, i sure love the thought of them making that lope down the spine of the appalachians.

Hi have over 450 pictures of BC Coastal wolves or “rainwolves” on my site. We have been following a local pack for 2 years and documented all our stories that we have had with the wolves. This wolf was old and starving, and remember wolves don’t have the best site, and depending on the way the wind was blowing might have never smelled the kayaker. Or was hungry it didn’t care if it was human.
Regardless it was unhealthy.

I work in the coastal forest of British Columbia, Canada and have done so for over 10 years.
In all that time, I have only ever run into wolves 3 times and all but one of those three times, the wolves wanted nothing to with me or my partner.
The one time a wolf did engage in ‘communication’ with me, it appeared to be in an effort to encourage me to leave the area as there were wolf pups denning nearby.
This wolf barked at my partner and I in short, loud and intent-filled barks. Every time I yelled back, stopped, or raised my axe above my shoulders, this barking was repeated. Off in the distance, another wolf ‘yipped’ in short, high pitched yelps and the wolf near us would answer back in a different tone than that of the warning bark she gave us.
This experience, although hair raising and slightly terrifying, really awakened me to the intelligence of these animals. The wolf that herded us out of his/her denning territory appeared to be doing so without the intent of harming us – all the while staying in communication with the rest of the pack.
Suggestions were made to bring a gun in and continue to work and I vocally protested while suggesting we wait a few months for the animals to move on before returning to assess the resource values in the area.
This incident gave me a whole new respect for these magnificent animals and allowed me to connect reality to a long-lived fear that society instilles in us.
I say leave them alone until they attempt an attack on you and then, when and IF they do, you had better fight for you life, because that is exactly what those animals do when they attack.
Good luck and leave the wolves alone is your best recourse for safety!

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‎"At some point we must draw a line across the ground of our home and our being, drive a spear into the land and say to the bulldozers, earthmovers, government and corporations, “thus far and no further.” If we do not, we shall later feel, instead of pride, the regret of Thoreau, that good but overly-bookish man, who wrote, near the end of his life, “If I repent of anything it is likely to be my good behaviour."